Opposition members have called for a fresh vote on plans to close four children’s centres in Cheshire East saying ‘it is clear many councillors were not fully informed about what they were voting on’.

As previously revealed by the Chronicle, Sandbach’s MP Fiona Bruce is chairing a parliamentary inquiry into the future of children’s centres and had asked the council to delay its vote - but none of Cheshire East’s 82 councillors appear to have seen that letter, which arrived at the council offices on January 4.

An amendment by Labour to keep the centres at Nantwich, Sandbach, Knutsford and Broken Cross in Macclesfield was narrowly lost at the end of February - and plans to slash £500,000 from the budget and ‘de-designate’ those centres were pushed through.

Now furious Labour, Independent and Liberal Democrat councillors are demanding the vote be re-taken - a move prompted by a number of Conservative councillors telling the Chronicle they may have voted differently had they known the MP had asked them not to take a decision until the inquiry report was published.

Sandbach councillor Sam Corcoran (Lab) said: “It is clear that many councillors were not fully informed about what they were voting on at the council budget meeting in February. I hope that the leadership of Cheshire East Council will remedy any misunderstanding by having a fresh vote on the plans for the four children’s centres earmarked for de-designation soon after the parliamentary group led by Fiona Bruce MP has issued its report.”

Independent group leader Arthur Moran has been campaigning to save the Nantwich centre.

He said: “I agree with that. We should reconsider it.”

Liberal Democrat group leader Rod Fletcher said that council leader Rachel Bailey, who was cabinet member for children’s services in January when the council received the letter, should have been briefed about Mrs Bruce’s letter and then should have advised councillors of it before the vote.

The Alsager councillor said he ‘fully supported’ the call for a fresh vote.

“When I opened the Crewe Chronicle I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It was the first I knew about any letter,” said Cllr Fletcher.

Labour’s amendment to keep the centres in their current form was lost with 40 councillors (Conservatives) voting against it, 30 councillors voting for it and eight abstaining.

The Chronicle asked Cheshire East for a response on calls from opposition parties for a fresh vote on the children’s centres.

Councillor Liz Durham, cabinet member for children and families, said: “There has been a great deal of misreporting of this matter with little reference to the context of these decisions.

“With some of the transitional funding Cheshire East has secured, the council will be able to build further on its aspirations for a far more effective delivery of services, working with partners in certain parts of the borough, and addressing a far wider range of family needs and concerns.

“As a ‘residents first’ authority, we believe in supporting our families and children whatever their needs.”

She added: “We are in contact with Fiona Bruce MP and she has informed us that she fully agrees with the council’s view that children’s centre services should be broadened to support the wider needs of families and that many of these services do not to be delivered from a particular building.

“She has stated that she agrees with the council’s view that many of these services do not have to be delivered from a building and that in a number of cases buildings are not best located for delivering the services and needs of local families.

“Rather than closing children’s centre services in four of the borough’s locations, Knutsford, Broken Cross, Nantwich and Rural, Sandbach – as widely reported in the media – the council is protecting services through a different model and broadening their reach.

“Cheshire East children’s centres exist within a wider family service, the elements of which work closely together to meet the needs of families.

“This is very much in line with the model supported by Fiona Bruce MP’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Children’s Centres and the concept of child and family hubs, where a broad range of family issues can be addressed.

“The soon-to-be-launched Cheshire East Parenting Journey joint strategy between Cheshire East Council and the health visiting service is about supporting all parents and identifying children and families who may need extra support across the borough.”